


From The Ashes We Rise | A JO1 College Basketball Team AU

by haikyuu_philia



Category: JO1 (Japan Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Basketball, Alternate Universe - College/University, Cameo Appearances of Many PDJP 101 Boys, Chaos, Growing Up, JO1 being JO1, Me Trying to Cope with My Fear through Writing, Platonic Relationships, Probably Crumbs for Several Ships, Slice of Life, Struggles of Adulthood, no beta we die like real men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25452976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haikyuu_philia/pseuds/haikyuu_philia
Summary: Many have heard of the small university in the middle of Japan, mostly known as PDJ. There they offer a hand for those that have failed to withstand the pressure of our modern society and those that have decided to try something new. With a combination of life advice, classes for their major as well as extracurricular activities the tiny community of students becomes a whole. From first year's Mamehara Issei to senior Yonashiro Sho, eleven different personalities are meant to meet on the basketball court, even though some don't know it yet. - Ready? Set. Fight for your dream!
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	From The Ashes We Rise | A JO1 College Basketball Team AU

**Author's Note:**

  * For [All the lovely people from JAM twt!!](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=All+the+lovely+people+from+JAM+twt%21%21).



Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. A small city that coincidentally shares the same name with a popular car brand. In the middle of the World Heritage Shirakawa-go, Japan’s fourth biggest city Nagoya and the coast, it offers more than a spectacular mountain side. It is also home to the fairly unknown Pittari Daigaku Japan, or PDJ for short.

Located in a quiet neighbourhood the university has adapted a concept from South Korea which allows their students to learn important basics, such as doing taxes or cooking, as part of every major. The 101 of life, if you may. While living in dorms close to the campus as well as enjoying their passions in extracurricular activities the boys and girls from all over Japan, some even from abroad, get to smoothly slide into adulthood. An attempt to save those that feel lost in the competitive society of the country where tradition meets the modern age.

Today the school will open its gates for its fourth year after weeks of a well-deserved summer break. Many new faces will make their debut on campus, some less nervous than others. But for the first time students will return knowing that it will be their last year, the graduates of the new academic year who have spent their whole university life at PDJ.

One of them is Yonashiro Sho and at the moment he has no idea how he is keeping track of all the different thoughts that are rushing through his head. If it wasn’t for his roommate Tomo, he would have forgotten half of his paperwork in the morning as he had worked on it until late at night. At least he made up his non-existent morning work out by jogging to the gym in order to be there for basketball practice on time.

„Good morning everyone! I hope you had a nice summer break“, he now announces with his hands resting on his hips, speaking loud enough for a whole army to hear him. Well, if you count the four more people sitting on the ground in front of him as an army, then he is indeed talking to one.

But even he himself, the captain of the team, and the usually realistic vice-captain, Kawashiri Ren with his outstanding grey hair, have to admit that success isn’t exactly on their team’s daily schedule.

„Sho, I love your enthusiasm, really. On the other hand it’s seven in the morning and we’ve literally seen each other yesterday“, the probably most popular member of the otherwise ignored club interferes. Shiroiwa Ruki, also known as the prince of PDJ amongst the girls. Even though he currently isn’t looking his best as he gathers his bangs to put them into a tiny ponytail on top of his head, turning him into a human unicorn.

Next to him a specific artificial grey-head casually nods in agreement: „Same for me. Ruki and I are roommates, remember?“ He chuckles before pulling up his white socks again, a habit of his whenever he wants to jump around without being able to.

Admittedly, the oldest has way more stressful tasks to deal with compared to keeping track of the private lives of his fellow members. Not that he isn’t interested in them, he is usually entrusted with many details without even asking for them anyways. He simply seems to attract those that need advice or someone to talk to.

So he proceeds to put his hand at the back of his neck. „True that, sorry.“ Sometimes, in between his friends consulting him, it offers him an indescribable feeling of freedom to relax on a sofa while he listens to a sleep-deprived Ruki ranting about the most random things for hours. „You two are off the hook, which leaves Junki and KEIGO WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT EATING IN THE GYM, ESPECIALLY DURING PRACTICE?“

At this point the captain doesn’t sound angry anymore, only annoyed. Annoyed at the hopefully temporarily youngest member of the club, who didn’t even make an effort to hide behind his friend’s body to cover his crime.

Chopsticks in one hand, a plastic box in the other Keigo chews in slow motion, cheeks most likely stuffed to the maximum, as he doesn’t break eye contact with Sho. A dead silence falls over the five of them because no one dares to move at the sight of the captain’s questioning glare. Except for Junki nearly dying from suppressing his laughter and the rhythmic movements of Keigo’s jaw.

He swallows.

„You said“, Keigo straightens his back. „And I quote, ‚to keep the risks of accidents to a minimum only water is allowed and definitely no food because I don’t want to clean this up which I will have to in case of mentioned accidents‘.“ Then he flops back into a more comfortable position. „But - and that’s the most important point here - Junki has made a new dish. This … this … this …“

„Cordon bleu“, Junki decides to help him out despite Sho’s eyes still being on them.

Keigo doesn’t even repeat the name because he is fully aware that he will break his tongue which would disable him from eating more. „This French thing directly sent from heaven is …“

Immediately the blonde’s eyes wander to his companion who sits criss-crossed right next to him. As soon as Keigo moves his head their stares are meeting each other, inviting Junki to finish the explanation himself: „Basically it’s rolled veal with a slice of ham and cheese in the middle, then the roll gets breaded and pan-fried. Also it comes from Switzerland, not France. But you are forgiven because I’m a generous person, you know?“

Now that he is thinking about it, Sho remembers or basically doesn’t remember eating a lot this morning. A granola bar to save time that he needed, therefore healthy nutrition aside the tales of fried meat filled with cheese indeed trigger an appetite he didn’t know he had until now.

When he looks back at Keigo, the latter has already put the next bite into his mouth. Of course this earns him another piercing glare, though he completely ignores it by smiling with closed lips like a small child that is trying to hide the missing candy in his mouth.

Because that’s basically what the blonde is doing at this very moment.

Three blinks of the standing one pass, Keigo - still chewing - blindly picks up another piece of the Swiss delicacy to lift it out of the box. „Want some?“ He mumbles with a look that Sho can’t help but compare to a hamster. Oh, how hard it is to scold him like this with the innocence in his eyes.

But Sho forces himself to stay strong, to not give in this time because technically they can’t afford to spend their time with food when all he has left is less than a year. In six months he will have to start working on his thesis every single day - Who knows how long he will be participating in his club activities, including the matches that won’t happen at all, if they don’t find a new member before he finishes his bachelor’s degree.

For basketball you need at least five players, the Starting Five, which they barely have. One injury, one drop-out, one change of rules that you need to have at least one member to switch with at the sidelines. And it will be over for their team.

During the past three years, ever since the university opened its gates for students, the basketball club has struggled. In his freshman year all Sho could do was to throw one ball after the other on the dusty grounds between the soccer field and the gym. Alone. No one else had joined the basketball club with him, not enough students had enrolled in total to fill every club.

When all hope seemed lost, sophomore Sho met freshman Ren in one of their few shared classes in his second spring at PDJ. A young boy that just stood out with his energy and grey hair, eager to learn something new where he could get rid of his sometimes overwhelming energy.

Ruki, Ren’s roommate, followed suit after being pursued by the other, sick of all the attention he got everywhere he went thanks to his appearance.

Lastly, he was the one to invite Keigo and Junki who he had met as part of their cooking classes. Classmates, roommates, club mates, those two really had it all.

Together they had practiced for a year, moving to the gym every morning and every afternoon for 90 minutes. Not a lot but still enough to improve their skills, most of them being beginners anyway and finally his club activities were filled with laughter, joy and … life. Something Sho had longed for for so long, ever since leaving his home Okinawa.

This way it doesn’t matter that they loose every single game versus every single school every single time. For Sho, that is. As the first member, the captain at that, he wants their club to live on even after his graduation. But speaking from their experience it will be hard to recruit new students that have just arrived at PDJ.

They need time, mostly to settle down, to think, to breath. Sho knows that, everyone does since they’ve been through it themselves. Slightly different, yet the same.

„I guess that’s a no?“ Keigo looks at the oldest with furrowed eyebrows, snapping him out of his train of thoughts that was way too deep and dark for his own liking. The long break afterwards makes Keigo shrug his shoulders, then he guides the hovering bite towards his own mouth.

What happens next is a scenario that catches everyone off-guard. Suddenly Ren jumps up, rolls across the floor like ninja, only to stop in front of a this time innocent Keigo and steal the meat directly with his own mouth. Realisation hits him while his lips are still closed around the chopsticks.

„Vice-captain, I really expected higher things from you“, Sho sighs at the sight of the blonde nearly falling over in shock.

Shooting an apologetic smile in his direction, Ren slowly retreats from the chopsticks as well as their owner: „I’m seriously sorry, but Ruki was in charge of making breakfast today and you all can imagine how that ended. We had toast with jam.“

„Oh, excuse me, Mister Perfect-Roommate-That-Overslept-Because-He-Played-Video-Games-Until-Late-At-Night! How about some praise since I didn’t set the toaster on fire like in first year?“ Ruki speaks up, presenting the most exaggerated pout in his face.

They would definitely need a member with photography skills to take pictures of such things in the future. Including the way they all stare in confusion for a moment before Junki has absolutely reached his limit and can’t hold his laughter anymore. He laughs so hard that he falls over and his laugh echoes through the whole room, his highly addictive laugh. The moment Sho’s annoyed stare breaks to stop himself from choking on his chuckles, the remaining three join within a second.

It takes a minute - or two or three - until all of them find themselves laying on the floor with hurting stomachs.

Junki is rocking his body in fetal position with streaks of his black hair all over his forehead, next to him is Keigo who rests on his tummy to not spill the food, to his left he finds sea star Ren whose limbs point in different directions, last in line is Ruki sometimes giggling to himself again as he remembers the beginning of this mess - And Sho has somehow managed to get back on his knees, wiping a tear out of the corner of his eye.

„In class we learned that five minutes of laughing can replace thirty minutes of jogging“, Junki tries to sit up, but doesn’t let his heavy breathing stop him from returning to his talkative nature. „So can we take a break now, captain? Pretty please?“

Usually he would say no. Someone has to be strict in this team, if they want to have a bit of improvement. Though nothing seems to be usual about the first day of every semester. One senior and four juniors having a near-death-experience due to laughter - he can already see their ridiculous tombstones - can be counted as such an unusual event.

„Okay, okay! One condition. Everyone stays here and we try to plan something for the presentation of the clubs next week. Three fifths of us have to leave in less than thirty minutes anyways“, Sho gives in, raising his hands in defeat.

„Ew, math“, Keigo complains and instantly apologises for it once Ren begs him to shut his mouth because he feels the next giggle fit growing inside of him.

With three members still on the ground, completely knocked out after pushing each other over the edge again and again and again, Junki’s misery must be long forgotten when he sprints across the room in the speed of light. He disappears into the changing room to reappear with his backpack in his hands, this time walking much more carefully and a big grin decorating his facial features.

Sitting down at his former spot, he opens the light blue bag like it contains a fortune. Or a glitter bomb, both is possible in Junki’s case. All eyes are fixated on the zipper, desperately trying to guess what will be revealed, even though most of them are asking themselves why they feel this surprising excitement.

„Perfect that we have agreed on a break“, Junki concludes. The hand that is holding the pocket finally lets go and where school stuff should be stored four plastic boxes are exposed. „Since I’ve brought food for everyone to celebrate our first day of junior year, or senior year for Sho!“

„Why am I not surprised?“ The mentioned oldest slightly slaps his hand against his forehead, proceeding to massage his temples with his fingers. „Thanks Junki, we really needed that, I guess. And your cooking is top notch.“ A long awaited smile makes its way to Sho’s face.

Ren immediately has hearts in his eyes and can’t stop staring at the box that Junki hands to him. If one was allowed to marry cordon bleu, the gray-head totally would, even though he only had one bite earlier. But it was a bite of heaven: „Junki, I love you. Should you need help with your chemistry homework again, I’m your man!“

They are interrupted by Ruki’s howl of happiness as he stretches his fists towards the ceiling, letting out a silent but victorious cheer consisting of the word ‚food‘ with a very long spoken ‚o‘.

Everyone gets their box, which is filled with a variety of potato snacks, vegetables and of course the main dish, pan-fried meat roll filled with ham and cheese. After wishing each other a good appetite, they come together in a circle and all of the sudden the rule of not eating in the gym is forgotten.

„Soooo, what do you guys know about your mentees? Have you received any information yet?“ Keigo breaks the silence while the others are still focused on filling their stomachs.

Fastly Ren swallows the food in his mouth to answer the younger’s question. „Not yet, but we will at the meeting later. That’s why we have to leave early. They will arrive during the meeting, then they will have the entrance ceremony and at the end of the ceremony we will meet with them to get to know each other.“

As he explains the upcoming process, Ren’s head whips up and down in the rhythm of his voice. Even though it has been two years for him, he has pretty vivid memories of his first day at PDJ where he was matched with an older student who had volunteered to become his mentor for his freshman year.

Despite being only a few months older his upperclassman Uehara Jun had provided him with stability where it was much needed at a university that had only started its second year since opening.

Now, after settling down until today, Ren feels prepared enough to help out a new student himself. That can be basically everyone from year one to three, a junior like him or a freshman like he used to be. New to college life or a transfer student. A girl or a boy. Someone who doesn’t like labels or gendered pronouns - Everything can happen with one thing being for sure: The person will have their own reason for choosing a special place like Pittari Daigaku Japan in the middle of the land of the rising sun.

Not everyone thinks of themselves as able to deal with this responsibility. Ruki and Keigo, for example, don’t. So they haven’t signed up for the buddy program, on the other hand Junki, Ren and Sho have.

„Just because I am not an official mentor, doesn’t mean I won’t always be there for you guys, if you need support. Same goes for your mentees“, Ruki states after closing his emptied lunch box. He sounds more serious than most of the time, yet he smiles.

„Obviously, same here! I might not be of big help sometimes because I’m fairly unorganised and sometimes hard to understand for strangers, but I am here“, Keigo also offers his helping hand for all of them.

For a moment they all sit in silence as they look at each other with warm eyes. _We’ve got this_ is what they want to tell the others, that they will find new members, that they will all manage to graduate, that they will all be able to find happiness at a new place after graduation. But even though these words are hanging in the air, no says them out loud. The doubts are there as well, maybe they will forever be a part of them.

„Okay everyone, it’s nearly time to go“, Sho slaps his hands on his thighs. „Put your hands in the middle. Let’s focus on rule number one of PDJ.“

Five hands reach in the middle of the circle, brushing the fingers of the other’s. A ritual that they haven’t only done at the basketball club so far, but at many other occasions, especially their first few weeks here. They might barely touch each other, nevertheless the slight contacts between the members always remind them that they aren’t alone, sending a wave of warmness to their hearts. Like a connection that will last.

A glance of reassurance is enough to replace a countdown for all five of them to quote the university’s most important guideline.

„We always worry for the person, not their story!“

Another moment of luckily more comfortable silence approaches, lasts and leaves.

„Can we talk about my plans for the club introduction day now?“

Sho sighs, „No, we won’t have trampolines for stunts at our presentation. I don’t want us to die, Junki.“

~~~

Syoya wants to die. Or at least disappear from this hellish place, go back to his bedroom at his parents’ place where he used to live for the twenty years of his life. They aren’t here today, but he surely is as he is bumping into very realistic people while stumbling through the crowd.

His eyes pinned to the ground and very conveniently hidden behind his bangs, he mumbles hurried apologies as soon as he makes contact with another person. About 150 first years, more or less the same number of transfer students from the higher grades - including himself - as well as a seemingly endless amount of accompanying strangers started to run for the doors once the principal had finished his speech at the entrance ceremony.

Following the group pressure like a valid member of their society Syoya stood up despite knowing that it would take an eternity to arrive at room 228 for him to meet his mentor. The crowd surrounding him makes him dizzier by the minute, with the way the push and pull the boy that only wants to arrive and not find himself lost in the present any longer.

Not too far behind him a small ruckus breaks out, followed by a male yelling „Sorry, sorry, I tripped. Again. Can’t promise for it not to happen another time. Sorry.“

The amount of apologies reminds Syoya of himself and his way of trying to please people by saying sorry for everything that could bother them a bit too much before he has to focus on walking forward. He passes one room after the other, staying close to the wall to not get swallowed by the mass of unknown faces.

He doesn’t know how long it took him to find the room he is meant to be at, but he instantly retreats to one of the empty chairs with the hope that it is okay for him to sit there. Underneath his bangs his eyes are scanning the other people, maybe he can identify someone - Does he actually want to recognise someone, which might mean being recognised as well? He can’t answer that for sure.

A pair of shoes appears on the ground, only the tips of the black sneakers actually being in Syoya’s vision. First his eyes start moving upwards as they try to get a glimpse of whoever can have confused him with somebody else. The other person doesn’t move.

Finally the dark haired boy looks up completely, but not before checking out the other’s clothes on his way up. A neat looking pair of black trousers, combined with a rather loosely fitting white shirt covers most parts, though Syoya can tell by a look at the arms that this man definitely is on the more athletic side.

„Kimata Syoya? I’m Kawashiri Ren, a third year and your mentor. It’s nice to meet you!“

With a combination of puppy eyes and a shy smile he answers Ren’s greeting, who is currently busy with grinning from ear to ear, his eyes closing in the meantime. Before Syoya gets to say anything, he notices the pretty obvious hair color, something he had only seen in fashion magazines before.

_Oh damn, he surely is popular. God have mercy._

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I have practically no idea where this story is going but I have some pieces that I will bring together to build a puzzle! As a soon-to-be college student I have created a university that I would love to attend myself, where grades matter despite not being the highest priority. And basketball makes sense because of the video that was dropped on JO1's Youtube channel yesterday, check it out and feel free to leave me your feedback :)


End file.
